A great week in Honduras

It is a surreal experience riding through the Honduran countryside in a giant yellow school bus. There is absolutely no telling what your eyes will see. From the menagerie of animals alongside the road (I'm not talking about the fields beside the road. I'm talking about standing at the edge of the road) to the myriad of houses and shacks and lean-tos that dot the landscape. But this is where I found myself with my family on Tuesday.

We were wrapping up the last hours of a nine-day mission trip to the northern part of the country. I can't tell you the full impact of what I experienced last week nor can I adequately put into words how it touched my family. I can simply say we left El Progresso changed. How can you not be? I have a different understanding of many things. I reflected on them as we made our journey on Tuesday.

I know what intense poverty is. It's not having to live with basic cable; it's living without ever seeing a television. It's not having to trust in an unreliable vehicle for your daily transportation; it's walking everywhere you have to go no matter how many miles that may be. It's not relying on the government to give you food; it's going without food because the government is too poor to provide for its people. It's not your inability to pay the water bill; it's having no source of fresh water to draw from at all. I don't make these statements to down play those who live in more moderate levels of poverty. It's just to say that when someone is considered poor because they only have one TV or ride the public transportation or live in a two-room house, we are fooling ourselves.

I also learned the international need of belonging is best met with the international language of love. Like my friend, Pepe. Pepe is a 12 year old young man who lives in an orphanage just outside El Progresso. His smile could light a thousand villages and his heart overflows with love that he wants to give to somebody. For his privacy, I won't share the details behind why he was there at the home. Suffice it to say, he's there. And if it weren't for customs agents and international laws and restrictive adoption policies, he'd probably be here at my house today (at the unanimous pleading of all 6 of the Barrons). He might not be the only one.

Yes. It was a very good week. And it would be a great tragedy for me to come home and be unchanged by the faces and stories of people like Moises and Gabby, Julie and Wendy, Marvin and Luis. But a greater tragedy would be if I failed to tell you that they exist--along with billions of others like them on the planet. And you and I can make a difference. It might be by giving. It might be by going. You choose. But to ignore the "least of the little ones" as my grandmother used to call them, would be a sin in the greatest of proportions.

Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. James 1:26-27 the Message

Here we come..

The final articles of clothing are being tucked away in the suitcases and we've double-checked our passports and our backpacks for the necessary items. There is a huge sense of excitement around the Barron household today as we get ready for our first--and I hope its the first of many--family mission trip. That's right. All six of the Barrons will be headed out with other team members from our church to Honduras. For the next several days we will be serving alongside each other in an orphanage and a small village of under-resourced families.

I'm telling you this for three reasons. First, we covet your prayers as our team loads up and heads south tomorrow morning. Pray for us as we serve this week and as we return at the end of the trip. We'll need strength and health and energy. Most of all, I want all of us to be a pure reflection of Jesus as we go. I want us to love the Honduran people as we minister to them and with them this week.

Secondly, I imagine you'l hear some about this trip when we get back. I'll have much to say so I'm giving you advanced warning about where we are going and what it is we are doing.

Third, I mentioned that I'd love for this to become a tradition for our family, even as our kids get older and have children of their own. Wouldn't that be a cool way to pass along the love of Christ to your family--to serve alongside them as you act out Christ's love for the world? So I mentioned it so you could pray about the idea as well. Maybe God would lead you to take your family, a group of your friends or some co-workers to serve some place where there is a need. It doesn't have to be around the world. It could be across town. I'm pretty confident that God would love your willing heart. I'm even more confident that, no matter where you live, there are abundant needs that you could help meet. Give it some thought. Better yet, give it some prayer.

Here's a bonus reason. If you're my neighbor, don't forget to keep an eye on my house while I'm gone. If there is a really crazy party going on, it's not me.

They get it

In the speaking that I do for healthcare professionals, I work to encourage and challenge them on the quality of care and the safety they provide to their patients. One of the things that has become very apparent to me is the importance of remembering one simple but significant fact--we are all people. We (neither the medical professional nor their patient) are not numbers or statistics or cases or events. We are people. When a tragedy strikes in a hospital, people from both sides of the bed are impacted. There are victims in all corners of the "room." I think coming back to this simple truth is a huge first-step in changing the way healthcare--and life in general--are done.

So, I love it when I see an organization or a wing of a hospital or a team of professionals or an average family that gets it. And I love to applaud them when they do. This week was just one example of a group of people understanding how important it is that we treat each other with compassion.

Lisa and I were with the associates of Christus Spohn Health System in Corpus Christi, Texas. They are a wonderful group of people who are, honestly, trying to bounce back from a rough period in their recent history. I think they are making incredible progress and, based on what I heard this week, will rebuild the trust and quality that they are desiring for an organization. In our time together, they shared "Mission Moments"--highlights of moments in their six hospitals that capture the heart of their mission. Let me share one with you that should remind ALL of us what it means to love others.

They had a patient who was to be terminally extubated--a fancy way of saying that the lady was approaching the end of life and the tube keeping her alive was to be removed. As fate would have it, her husband of 62 years was a patient on the second floor of the same hospital. One very in-tune nurse made the connection between the two and put a plan into motion. This hospital has one particular room with an amazing ocean view--the kind you would pay top dollar for in a local hotel. It actually was the room next to the gentleman's and was empty on this particular day. The nurse got with his team and made arrangements for the couple to be brought into the room for their last moments together. Their beds were arranged so that the two could look each other in the fac --one's head at the other's feet--as the last few minutes of their life together passed. Family was brought in. Pictures were taken. Memories were made. And, as one patient's life came to an end, another's was filled with some final memories that would have never happened if not for this nurse and his team.

Life is fragile. And it is filled with plenty of challenges and changes. We can't avoid them or ignore them. What we can do is empower each other to traverse these rough patches in our journey by bearing them--the pain, the sorrow, the loss and the grief--together.

Self-control (for men)

Peter and Paul both wrote about self-control a pretty good bit in the Bible. In their letters, they encouraged readers to pursue self-control and teach others to seek the same fruit for themselves. I've been thinking about that throughout today as I've contemplated the significance of that trait, especially for men.

In a world looking for role models that are worth following, self-control seems to be a disappearing trait. I think that's the reason why the sports page looks like a police report these days. It is why men struggle with secret sins or failed attempts at greatness. What can't be controlled cannot be used for good. And, for many men, the desires of self are the greatest obstacles we face as we strive to be what God created us to be.

It is our desire that drives us to bitterness, rage, lust and war. It is our desire that keeps us from realizing the dream of family, relationships, careers and commitment. Stephen Covey once wrote,

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage--pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically--to say 'no' to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside. The enemy of the 'best' is often the 'good.'

Self-control is the art of deciding what is most important for you and allowing nothing to keep you from fulfilling that dream in you. If I want to commit to my marriage and it is the most important thing for me, then other women, my career or my fantasies will not force me to become distracted. That means I am willing to take whatever steps, whatever measures necessary to avoid the traps of "good" when "best" awaits me.

Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." (My translation: I've come to take your good and turn it into my best)

Guys, we've become distracted. Dare I say out of control? At a time when our families need us, our kids are looking for direction and our culture is eroding away, we've convinced ourselves that our self-worth (and, therefore, our purpose) is found in money, power, prestige, popularity and comfort. Nothing could be further from the truth. Guys, don't fall prey to the distractions of this world. Money disappears. Power is fleeting. Prestige only lasts as long as you have the attention of a world with A.D.D. Nothing will satisfy you more than the pursuit of God and His Kingdom. That pursuit cannot happen without self-control.

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does. 1 Peter 5:8-11 The Message

Good knees

It's that time of year again. Around the first of the summer, I dust off the glove and try to coax my body back into playing shape for softball. We're about three weeks into our season and I must tell you there are parts of my body that I didn't even know could hurt this bad. For as long as I have played sports, I've played with one style--get as dirty as you can. By the end of last week's games, I looked like the old "Pig Pen" character from Charlie Brown. I was covered head to toe with the dirt from dives and tumbles. Lisa even hosed me down on the back porch before she let me inside.

So, by Tuesday morning (and even still today) my body was screaming--"Hey, I'm almost 44 years old, you goofball. Take better care of me!!" Joints creak. Muscles are as tight as they can be. It takes me about 30 seconds to straighten my back every time I sit for longer than 15 minutes. I love it! Yeah, I'm tired of the aches and pains...but I'll be right back in the dirt of my shortstop position next Monday night. And there's a good chance I'll be sore by Tuesday morning.

Then I read this passage in the Bible this morning.

Therefore God exalted [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

I had a funny thought when I got to that bold-faced part. That includes me. It says every knee will bow. Every knee! And it doesn't say one thing about struggling to get back up...or creaks and groans...or pains associated with bending joints that are worn out! I'll bow. Just like every one else. Isn't that cool? This old body won't need dusting off any more. I'll get a new one. With it, I will worship alongside people from every nation and tribe and race...and I'll smile as I kneel on knees that are pain-free.